The following WWII intelligence report on German antigas clothing
was originally published in Tactical and Technical Trends,
No. 15, Dec. 31, 1942.

[DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department
publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime
intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No
attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or
opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

GERMAN HEAVY ANTIGAS CLOTHING

A sample of German heavy-type antigas clothing has been captured and
examined.

The outfit consists of three pieces: jacket with attached hood, trousers,
and gloves, each article being simple in design and construction.

a. Jacket

The jacket is seamed, and cut in more or less conventional fashion with
single but ample overlap on the chest. It is loose-fitting, but is provided with a
substantial rubber belt at the waist, and is worn over the trousers. The hood is
also of the usual design, and attached to the jacket at the neck band. It carries
two side-flaps which join under the chin. These flaps, used in conjunction with
the gas mask, provide an approximately vapor-tight joint. At the wrist, the
sleeves are provided with fitting bands consisting of rubber-covered steel
wires. These bands fit under the gauntlet of the glove to produce a vapor-tight joint.

b. Trousers

The trousers, which are the overall type, are also seamed and of normal
cut. They are of ample proportions and allow bending without much movement of
material. Provision is made for drawing them in at the waist. The trouser legs
terminate in molded-rubber fitting bands which are of such dimensions as to
suggest that they fit over a half-length rubber boot.

c. Material

The material of all the above garments (trousers, jacket, and hood) is of
fabric, heavily rubberized on both sides. Their total weight is 7 3/4 pounds. One
point worthy of special note is the almost complete absence of metal parts.

d. Gloves

The gloves are of thick gray molded rubber without fabric reinforcement. They
are provided with four fingers and thumb. The weight of each glove is 4.9 ounces.

e. Performance

The resistance of this suit to liquid vesicants is of a high order, being
approximately 1 1/2 hours against mustard and considerably longer against
lewisite. For the gloves, the figures are about 3 hours against mustard and
more than 6 hours against lewisite. Tests on the seams showed that they were
as resistant as the rest of the garment, which is in striking contrast to the
German light antigas suit.

The aim of the designer appears to have been to obtain a high degree of
protection from liquid and vapor for a reasonable length of time, and in this
respect he has reportedly been very successful. The suit, however, is
completely lacking in ventilation, which tends to restrict the time of
wearing in hot climates to extremely short periods.